White Asparagus Soup (Spargelsuppe) – Easy and Creamy Recipe

If you have not yet tried white asparagus, you definitely should! Especially now during the white asparagus season. If you love white asparagus as much as I do, then try out my white asparagus soup recipe! It is easy; it is creamy; it is elegant and gives you a luxury feeling. A bit of lemon juice together with the white asparagus heads as toppings, you just have to try it because it is impossible to describe this sensation with words.

It is again the asparagus time!

I know that I am “Germanized” when I start to get really excited every spring for the asparagus time. The asparagus time (Spargelzeit) starts in April until the end of June. During this time, you will see white asparagus everywhere in Germany: in supermarkets; in farmers’ markets; or directly on the fields. White asparagus is also called Germany’s white gold. It is white because it is grown underground, without any sunlight. 

Read also: How to Make the Best Cold German Potato Salad – Simple Grandma’s Recipe

The price of white asparagus

The price of white asparagus fluctuates significantly year to year. In 2024, one kilogram of white asparagus costs about 12 EUR.

But if you look back at 2023, the price was much higher – up to 20 EUR per kilogram! (due to the increase in minimum wage in Germany)

Another example: in 2020, due to the Coronavirus, the price of white asparagus was high too. This is because many seasonal workers had problems traveling to Germany during the asparagus time. We always need a lot of seasonal workers to help to harvest the white asparagus. We were paying about 15 Euros per kilogram in 2020.

I remember that we could not afford to eat white asparagus every day that year (as we would normally like to). Instead, we ate white asparagus only around twice per week. It became a luxury to eat white asparagus. And we were always looking forward to it.

So, as you can see, the price of white asparagus really varies depending on different factor like the weather and the supply of seasonal workers.

Read also: Strawberry Waffle Recipe – Strawberry Season in Germany

How to eat white asparagus

If you are new to white asparagus, remember that you need to peel it when preparing your meal. I did this mistake in the past and cooked it without peeling. The white asparagus became so chewy that I could hardly eat it.

There are many different ways to cook white asparagus. The most common way in Germany is to steam it and serve it with boiled white potatoes. That is why you can find special tall pots that are designed for steaming white asparagus.

The way I love most is to bake it. Here you can find my easy recipe for baking white asparagus. Baking white asparagus in the oven is easy and I like to serve it with baked potatoes.

Another great way to enjoy white asparagus is to make a white asparagus soup (Spargelsuppe). A white asparagus soup can be a very elegant starter. You can also eat it as a main course and serve it with bread as an example. 

In my opinion, the best way to prepare a white asparagus soup is to use the peel and the ends of the white asparagus too. Boiling them first before discarding them can give you a soup base with intensive white asparagus taste. So, please do not just throw them away!

White asparagus soup recipe (Spargelsuppe)

Total time: 1 hour

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 kg white asparagus

0.5 tsp sugar

1.3 liter water

2.5 tbsp butter

3.5 tbsp flour

200g whipped cream

2 tbsp lemon juice

Some parsley

Some salt and pepper

How to make the white asparagus soup?

1. Prepare the white asparagus

Wash and peel the white asparagus. Trim the end of each stem. You can also use a special asparagus peeler that can help you to peel much faster.

2. Prepare the white asparagus soup base

Put the peel and the ends of the asparagus in a pot with 1.3 liter water. Boil for 20 minutes with 0.5 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp sugar.

3. Cut the white asparagus

Cut the asparagus to around 3 cm long pieces. Set aside the asparagus heads.

4. Filter out the peel and the ends

After cooking for 20 minutes, use a filter to take out the peel and the ends of the asparagus. Drain them well before throwing them away. Keep the soup base.

5. Cook the white asparagus

Now, cook the soup base again. Put the white asparagus pieces (except the heads) into the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Take out the asparagus pieces afterward. Keep only 1 liter of the soup base and pour it to another container.

6. Mix the butter and flour

Use low heat to melt 2.5 tbsp butter in the same pot. When the butter is melt, put 3.5 tbsp flour in the pot. Keep stirring to avoid the flour being burnt.

7. Pour the soup base to the butter-flour mixture

Once the butter-flour mixture looks smooth, pour the 1 liter soup base slowly back into the pot. Keep stirring and make sure they are mixed together smoothly. Pour also the whipped cream into the pot and keep stirring. Cook for 5 minutes and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

8. Fry the white asparagus heads

Fry the asparagus heads with butter for 5 minutes until they are golden on the edge.

9. Finish the white asparagus soup

Put the asparagus pieces back to the soup to warm them up. Serve the soup immediately with the fried asparagus heads and some parsley as toppings. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Some other tips for the white asparagus soup 

If you prefer to have more tender asparagus pieces, you can simmer them for longer in the pot. You can also blend some or all of the asparagus pieces in the soup base with a hand blender. 

This will give your soup a more intense asparagus taste. A hand blender is great because you can blend directly in the pot and do not need to transfer the soup to another mixer. Just save the asparagus heads as toppings as they are the best part of the soup.

You can eat the white asparagus soup as a starter. Or you can also eat it as a main course with some bread.

Do you like white asparagus soup? Have you tried my recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!